


The Real You

by Righteous_Flame



Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Other, Slow Burn, eventually gets romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-10-05 05:12:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17318666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Righteous_Flame/pseuds/Righteous_Flame
Summary: Who is Kris when they're in control? The Kris Susie knows was controlled by "the player", but what if the real Kris is a different person entirely?





	1. Empty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the purpose of this fic, I'm ignoring the VERY end part of Deltarune Chapter 1 (the part with the knife). Not because I don't accept it as canon, but simply because I have no idea what the heck it means. And since we have no idea when Deltarune will be finished, I'm not about to wait for an answer.
> 
> This fic is based on my headcanons for Kris, and those headcanons are based on the small clues we get about who Kris really is, and how much control they had during the game.

The familiar hustle and bustle of the school cafeteria was the same whether you were human or monster, it seemed. No matter where you sat you could hear hear every person in the room loudly chatting or loudly eating the mediocre food they were served. Somewhere in this maze of tables sat Kris, the only noteworthy thing about them being that they were the only human in the entire school. Otherwise they remained completely inconspicuous and unremarkable: just the way Kris preferred it.

"Oh yeah! Prom's coming up in a couple weeks isn't it?" Noelle chirped, somehow always greeting the school day with a smile.

"Yo... don't remind me, haha..." said Monster Kid sitting next to her. "I dunno what's worse: asking someone to the prom, or the prom itself."

"Definitely the asking part for me. I get so nervous, so I always end up going alone. I think the prom itself is pretty fun, though!" She turned to Kris, who was sitting across from the two of them. "What about you, Kris? Got any plans for the prom?"

Kris looked up briefly, eyes perpetually obscured by their unkempt hair. They silently shook their head before returning their gaze downward to their empty tray. Any food in front of Kris tended to disappear quickly, but unfortunately that left them with little else to do but absentmindedly stab and poke the tray with a spork until lunch ended. The two monsters sitting in front of Kris were used to their quiet, slightly creepy demeanor.

"Heh, looks like none of us have much of an idea what to do then." Noelle chuckled. "Y'know, if none of us have dates or anything, we could all just go together! Just have some fun as a group!"

"Haha, what? Dude, that's lame. That's almost as lame going to prom with your mom! Uh... no offense, Kris." MK smiled awkwardly.

Kris shrugged, knowing full well how lame that one prom in middle school was. Their mom thought it would be a good way to get them to socialize. It... didn't quite work out that way.

"Anyway... going to prom with friends is super embarassing! Might as well not even go."

"Oh come on, it might be fun! We could-"

****

SLAM!

A tray full of food was unceremoniously dropped onto the table. Standing before it was the purple people eater herself, the towering beast making a dramatic entrance as usual. The teens shook in fear (and a bit of fluster, in Noelle's case) as she loomed over them. Except for Kris. The human smiled when she appeared, something that doesn't often grace their face.

"Sup, nerds." The beast uttered in her low, gravely voice.

"Y-yo..." Monster Kid trembled.

"H-h-h-hello!" Noelle blushed.

"Hi, Susie." Kris said calmly.

"Mind if I sit here?"

"Uh, w-well-"

"'Course ya don't." Susie interrupted before plopping down onto the seat next to Kris.

As soon as she sat down, Susie draped one of her massive arms around the human's shoulders. Kris drooped a little under its weight, but otherwise didn't seem to mind. This was just a thing that Susie did. Its been that way ever since they became friends after the Dark World incident a few days back. Whether they were walking, talking, or just sitting next to each other, Susie always seemed to be leaning on Kris in some way. She seemed to be a very... physical person, to say the least. Maybe she does it to assert dominance, maybe she just likes holding people. Kris had no idea. They hadn't thought to ask.

"You two sure have gotten... close lately!" Noelle pointed out, just a little bit jealous.

"Y-yeah, I thought you two hated each other!" MK added. "Now you're acting like best buds!"

"Eh, don't think about it too hard." Susie replied, using her other arm to shovel food into her maw. "Let's just say we, uh... found common ground."

Kris nodded, still smiling faintly.

"Well, I'm glad you two are getting along!" Noelle said cheerily. "I think that's great!"

"And weird." MK said bluntly. Noelle nudged him in disapproval.

"Whatever, we're friends now, big deal. Just go back to whatever you were talking about before."

"Uh, o-oh yeah! We were trying to figure out what to do for prom! Are... a-are you going to prom, S-Susie?" Noelle asked bashfully.

"Noooooooope. Not a chance." Susie said as she gulped down another mass of foodstuff.

"Oh... b-but we were thinking of g-going as a group! If... if-if you wanted to join us!"

"What? Yo, that was your idea!" MK chimed in. "I still think its lame as heck! Proms are supposed to be for _couples_ , which means you're _supposed_ to ask someone out, but all of us suck at that!" He slammed his face on the table and groaned. "Prom sucks, man."

To everyone's surprise, Susie let out a laugh. That bellowing, barking laugh of hers. 

"What are you talking about?! Why settle for that when you've got the flirt master right here?" She said, motioning towards Kris. The human's content smile suddenly disappeared.

Noelle and MK looked at each other in confusion.

"Uh... ha... haha, very funny, Susie." Noelle chuckled nervously.

"Wha- I'm serious! You mean you guys didn't know? I've seen 'em win people over with a single line! I gotta say, I was impressed. And that ain't an easy thing to do."

Kris frowned.

"Are you for real?" MK lifted his head off the table. "Yo, Kris! Have you been holding out on us? Are you saying you could actually get us dates?"

"Um... S-Susie, I don't..." Kris tried to speak.

"Sure they could." Susie unintentionally interrupted, unable to hear their quiet voice. "I bet this guy could coach both of you dweebs in no time! Right, Kris?" She turned to the human with a toothy grin.

Suddenly all eyes were on Kris. The monsters looked at them expectantly. The human froze in place like a statue, trembling slightly. Their heart began racing, their hidden eyes darted back and forth.

"I-I-I... uh... w-w-we... I c-can't..." Any semblance of words struggled to escape Kris' mouth. The ones that did were timid and shaky.

"I... I have to go."

They quickly pulled Susie's arm off of themself, got up, and ran straight out of the cafeteria. The trio of monsters looked on in bewilderment. Susie looked the most baffled of all of them.

"I'll... I'll go get them." She said quietly.

Exiting the cafeteria, her eyes searched up and down the hallway. She heard the sound of a door slamming shut. It was one of the school's front doors. She followed the trail outside. The air was cold and crisp, autumn was already well underway. Susie looked around, scanning for Kris. No sign of them. Nothing but the surrounding woods, trees covered with the color-changing leaves of fall.

Suddenly, she saw movement behind one of the trees. She went towards it and peeked around the trunk. Sure enough there was Kris sitting on the leafy ground, arms wrapped around their curled legs, staring down at nothing.

"There you are! Kris, what the heck happened back there?"

The human stayed silent for a moment. A long moment.

"Kris?"

They looked up at Susie. Their expression was as unreadable as always, all that was visible was a frown.

"Susie..." They finally spoke. "Have you ever been forced to be something you're not?"

"Forced...? Is someone forcing you to do something? Are you getting blackmailed?! Who is it, I'll kick their ass!!!" She emphasized by punching her own palm.

"N-no, that's not-" Kris sighed, hanging their head again. "Forget it. You wouldn't understand."

Susie winced at that. She was still pretty new to this whole """friend""" thing. She didn't want to admit it, but she had no idea what she was doing. Still, she was preeeeetty sure you're not supposed to leave a friend alone to mope.  
She sat down next to them.

"Hey. I know I'm not really good at any of... _this_ yet." She made vague motions with her hand between the two of them. "And I can guarantee any advice I have would be terrible. But, uh..." She scratched the back of her head. "If... if something's eating at you, then I wanna know about it."

Another long silence. Kris lifted their head slightly.

"The... th-the person you saw in the Dark World... the leader of the party of heroes, that... that wasn't me."

"What? Then... who was it?"

"I don't really know." Kris rubbed their arm anxiously. "I don't know if its a someone or a something. But that whole day, they were in control of my actions."

"Is it... is it here right now?" Susie asked.

Actually it was still in Kris' room, locked up in that rusty birdcage. But they didn't want to tell her about that. Or anyone, for that matter.

"No." They simply said.

Susie was expecting Kris' problem to be normal teenage angst stuff. A school crush, a bully (not her this time), something like that. Not... whatever this is. To be honest, she wasn't sure if this entity they spoke of was real or some kind of metaphor. She didn't know how to respond.

"...You don't believe me, right?" Kris said in response to her unusual quietness.

"N-no, I do!" She had no reason not to. "I mean hey, it was only a few days ago that we fell from a closet into another world! So, y'know, this isn't so strange compared to that!" She chuckled lightly. "It's just... a lot to take in."

Kris nodded.

"It's... not like they made me do anything bad. We came through that adventure pretty successful. But that just wasn't me. The quiet guy who sits alone, the creepy kid across the street, the spineless freak who can barely even speak in front of people, let alone flirt... That's the real me..."

Susie stayed silent listening to all this, but she was in disbelief. This was all the total opposite of the stoic, charismatic leader she witnessed in the other world.

"I'm no hero." Kris continued. "I'm nothing. I barely even feel anything. Most of the time I'm just... empty inside. The only time I really felt alive was when I was with m-..." Kris gulped, their throat choked up even mentioning this. "M-m-my brother..."

Though she used to bully them often, she actually didn't know much about Kris. Despite being the lone human in town, they were always overshadowed by their family. Their mother, the most beloved teacher in school. Their father, the gentle giant of the neighborhood. And their brother, Asriel, the straight-A ultra popular athelete. Though Susie did recall that, back when Asriel was still in town, Kris was practically always glued to him.  
Susie grimaced, coming to a conclusion that she didn't like. 

"So... what? Are you saying the real Kris wouldn't wanna be friends with someone like me?"

"NO!" Kris suddenly shouted, catching Susie off-guard. It was the first time she ever heard them raise their voice. Embarrassed, Kris returned to their curled position.

"No, that's not it." Kris said, back to their quiet, raspy voice. "The reason I didn't want to tell you any of this is because... b-because I was scared. Scared that you w-wouldn't like me anymore. That you wouldn't want to be friends with a freak like me. The real me."

Tears appeared from underneath the human's bangs, rolling down their cheeks. Their lip quivered, their normally emotionless face twisted in sadness and shame.

_Oh crap, they're crying! How do you deal with crying?! I have no idea what I'm doing here!!! C'mon, Susie, think of something!!!_

She thought of something. She hoped it was the right something. Hesitating for a moment, she wrapped an arm around Kris' body, but this was different than what she usually did. Rather than lean on the human, she pulled them in and held them tight. This was... affectionate, no doubt about it. That's what surprised Kris the most.

Kris started to relax a little in this new yet familiar embrace.

"Alright so... I'm not gonna pretend I know what you're going through, but lemme ask ya something." She scratched her chin apprehensively. "When we were down there, was this thing like... controlling everything you did? Did you have no ability do do anything?"

"Uh... n-not exactly." Kris replied, whiping the tears from their face. "It was more like... they made all the decisions for me. Where to go. What to do. Then I just... did it."

"Okay, okay, I getcha. So tell me this. When it told you to compliment the enemy, did it tell you how to do it?"

"Well... no. I-I guess I did that part myself."

"When me and Lancer fought you guys and you were trying to convince us to stay with you, did it tell you what to say?"

"No... that was me."

"And when it told you to flirt with the enemies, who came up with the flirts?"

"I did..." Krist started to raise their head.

"At the end of our battle with the King, when he was about to thrash me..." She paused. She wasn't sure if this part was really Kris' doing or not, but she felt in her gut it must have been. "Who was it that immediately pulled out their shield and protected me?"

"Me..." Kris held onto Susie's broad arm, clutching her sleeve as they remembered that moment. Acting so quickly and reflexively was not something Kris was known for. Yet that day, seeing their battered friend on the floor, they acted on their own.

"See what I'm getting at?!" She chuckled and shook the human excitedly. "That thing, whatever it is, may have been calling the shots. But YOU were the one doing the all dirty work!"

Kris pondered this silently. They had always been so focused on how much they hated being controlled, they never considered how much of their own personality shined through.

"Know what I think?" Susie continued. "I think you're not giving yourself enough credit! I think YOU'RE the reason we made it through the Dark World as good as we did. Not that other thing."

"You... you really think so?" Kris said softly, a faint feeling of hope suddenly rising in them. "Do you think I can be like that out here too...?"

"Sure ya can! It's still the same you! And besides..." Susie's voice became unexpectedly gentle. "If you - the real you - still wants to be friends with me after all the crap I did then... well, that's all I need to know." She flashed the human a toothy grin.

Over the years Kris had learned to fear that smile, as it was usually followed by some thorough bullying. But now they loved it. They wanted to see more of it.

Kris was about to speak, but was interrupted by a sudden coughing fit. 

"You alright, dude?"

"Yeah... sorry..." They said in between the last few sputters. "It's just been a long time since I've talked that much. Still getting used to it."

The human let out a relieved sigh and let their head fall back, leaning into Susie's shoulder. They turned their head up towards her and, for once, a wide ear-to-ear smile graced their face. Their eyes were just faintly visible behind the strands of hair.

"It felt nice. Thanks, Susie."

Susie found herself accidentally gawking at the human's face. The creepy quiet kid suddenly looked... cute????? She quickly shook the thought out of her head and the stunned look off of her face.

"Uh, y-yeah!!! No problem!!" She turned away, flustered. "Heh... looks like I finally did something right for once, huh?"

She loosened her hold on Kris and stood up, holding out her hand to them. Kris took it, their hand dwarfed by hers, and pulled themself up.

"C'mon, let's head back. We're probably late for class again, and people will start getting suspicious if we keep disappearing like that."

Kris nodded, still smiling. For the first time since Asriel left, they felt just a little less empty inside.


	2. Creepy

_Ding-dong!_

Toriel opened the door to her humble home, still wearing her work clothes from the recently ended school day.

"Hello, Kris! Hello, Susie!" She greeted with a bright smile.

"Hi, mom." Kris said nonchalantly.

"Hey, Ms. Toriel." Susie said, standing a little straighter than usual. Despite the age difference, she was actually nearly as tall as Toriel.

"Please, come in! Make yourself at home, Susie!"

Kris entered the same way they did every day, but Susie seemed a bit starstruck. Its not like their home was anything out of the ordinary (except for being impeccably clean), but Toriel was something of a celebrity among the students. Everyone wanted a class with Ms. Toriel, even though she mainly taught kindergarten. Despite her strict rules, her seemingly endless supply of kindness had long since won over pretty much the whole school, including the (former) bully.

"Kris told me you would be coming by today. I am so pleased to see you working together on your homework!" Toriel said cheerfully as she walked them past the living room.

"Uh, yeah! Th-thanks for having me!" Susie said anxiously. Kris gave her a confused look, having never seen her show this much reverence for anyone.

"We are glad to have you! Kris has been so much more energetic since you two became friends." Toriel beamed.

"Mom, I'm right here."

"In fact, I think this might be the first time Kris has invited someone else here willingly!"

_"Mooooooooom!"_ Kris whined.

Susie couldn't help but snicker loudly, trying and failing to hide her huge grin.

"Oh dear, I apologize!" Toriel chuckled, hand on her cheek. "I am talking too much. I cannot help it, I am just so proud of my child!"

"...I'm going up now." Kris said defiantly, marching up the stairs.

Susie started to follow behind, but was stopped by a large hand on her shoulder.

"Susie, a moment?" The gentle voice asked, quietly enough that Kris couldn't hear.

"Yeah?"

Susie turned around, expecting to see Toriel's kindly face, but was instead met with a stern, deadly serious face. She's never seen Ms. Toriel make a face like that before. It was... scary. The powerful, fearless girl suddenly froze.

"Susie... this is not some sort of nasty joke, is it?" Even Toriel's voice became imposing. "Some form of bullying that would leave my dear, sweet child with a broken heart?"

"N-n-n-n-n-no, ma'am!" Susie sputtered as if instilled with the fear of god.

"Good!" Toriel seemed to revert right back to her kind, gentle self and released her grip. "Off you go, then! I will bring you children some snacks later!"

With a cold sweat Susie silently meandered up the stairs, still partially frozen, her movement stilted and robotic.

Shaking herself out of it, she followed Kris to their room. With how gifted the whole Dreemurr family seemed to be, Susie sort of expected the human's room to be equally gilded and immaculate. But when Kris opened the door... well, half of the room met that expectation. Shelves lined with shiny trophies, bed neatly made, walls covered with cute posters and stickers, basically everything you could ask for in a teenager's room. 

But then there was the other half. Completely barren of anything except a bed and empty shelves. The only thing even slightly notable was the peculiar red stain in the corner of the room. Based on the indentations in the carpet, something used to sit there as well. Something... with wheels? Whatever it was, it wasn't there anymore.

"Sorry it's not very exciting." Kris said, responding to Susie's silence.

"Huh? Er, no it's- it's cool." Susie replied, a little embarassed. The stark difference between the two halves of the room was just kind of unnerving. "I was, uh, just admiring your brother's stuff!"

She walked further into the room. As she looked around, her eyes briefly glanced at a small closet. For a moment, she thought she heard a faint thumping sound coming from inside it. Like a heartbeat. Must have been her imagination.

She wandered over to the glittering trophy shelf.

"Damn, dude. Is there anything your brother _couldn't_ do? I didn't even knew the school had this many trophies." She reached out to grab one of them for a closer look, but was halted by Kris tugging at her jacket.

"Uh... don't touch those." Kris said quietly.

"Huh? Relax, man, I'm not gonna smash them. I just wanted to-"

"I know but..." Kris interrupted, a little louder this time. "Just... please don't."

"......"

"Sorry, I just... want to keep everything there exactly how he left it. I know its weird but... can we just use my side of the room?"

Susie glanced at the trophies once more. It just now occurred to her how strange it was that everything on Asriel's side of the room was still perfectly clean, despite the fact that he's been gone for years now. Even the trophies were polished to a mirror sheen, barely any dust. Has Kris been taking care of them this whole time? 

"...Alright, whatever you say." Susie shrugged, not willing to push it any further. Kris seemed to calm down once she backed away from the shelf.

"Heh, sorry, I didn't mean to start your visit off on such a downer." The human said with a nervous smile.

"Meh, don't worry about it. Homework is already a downer."

Susie walked over to Kris' side of the room and immediately hopped onto their bed, going straight into a reclining position. It seemed she took 'make yourself at home' very literally.

"Check it out, Kris, you finally got a girl in your bed." She said with a toothy smirk, resting her head on her hands.

"Wow, that was fast." Kris chuckled, already used to her teasing. They sat on the edge of the bed near Susie's feet. "At this rate I'll get to first base in no time." 

"HAH! In your dreams, weirdo." She gave him a playful kick.

"Anyway, we'd better get started on this thing." Kris pulled a textbook out of their backpack and placed it on the bed. "Considering we've made zero progress."

"Yeah, I guess......." Susie groaned, sitting upright.

Three minutes passed. They both silently stared at the unopened textbook. Not a good start.

"...Kris?"

"Yeah?"

"Anything?"

"Nope."

"DUDE!!!! You're supposed to be the smart one!!!" Susie shouted, throwing her arms up in the air.

"What??? Who told you that?"

"I-I dunno! The quiet ones are always supposed to be smart! Plus your mom is a teacher!"

Kris stared at her disapprovingly. Probably. Hard to tell with all that hair.

"...Okay, maaaaaybe that was a stupid assumption." Susie admitted.

"Yeah. I'm like... a straight-C student."

"Damn... guess we're screwed then." Susie scratched her head. "Hey, maybe if we talk about, uh, non-school stuff, it'll give us some ideas for this project? Y'know, get the brain juices flowing?"

"Susie, that makes no sense."

"You got a better idea? Or do you wanna stare at this book some more?"

"...Good point." Kris conceded. They kicked their legs over the side of the bed, trying to think of a topic. Then they got an idea. A devious idea. "Well... I've been practicing that whole 'flirting' thing. You said I was really good at it, so I thought I'd try it out on my own."

"For real?!" Susie suddenly perked up. "Dude, you gotta let me hear what you came up with!"

"Right now? You sure?"

"Heck yeah. Lay 'em on me!"

"Alright, here goes." Kris cleared their throat. _"Your otherworldly beauty sends chills down my spine whenever our eyes meet."_

"Hah! Not bad, not bad." She smiled and crossed her arms, as if judging their words.

_"I adore the way your long, flowing hair twists and turns in the breeze, like a lonely dancer in the night."_

"Hehe, nice. Cheesy, but I dig it." She nodded.

_"Though your strong, imposing presence may scare some..."_ Kris turned towards Susie. _"To me it is like a dazzling statue, forever protecting me in its shadow."_

"Heh... uh... w-wait a second, these are getting kinda specific..." Her smile started to fade.

The human brought their legs up onto the bed, and started crawling ever so slowly across the sheets toward the confused monster.

_"Your powerful, boisterous laugh echoes throughout my soul whenever I think about you."_ Kris said, inching closer.

"U-um, okay, I get the picture. You can stop now..." She instinctively leaned back, her gaze darting around nervously.

_"I find myself getting lost in your radiant yellow eyes, like topaz drifting in an endless violet sea."_

"Uhhhhhhhhhh?????????"

Before she knew it Kris was already face to face with her, mere inches away, hunched over her body. Their eyes met. She could just barely see them behind the human's bangs. Her face turned red. 

A wide, unsettling smile crept across Kris' face.

"Gotcha."

Susie stared at them in disbelief for a moment.

"PffffffffffffffffffHAHAHAHA!!!" She suddenly burst into uproarious laughter, shoving a hand into the human's face and pushing them away. "YOU ARE SUCH A LITTLE CREEP, AHAHAHA!!!"

"Totally made you blush, though." Kris said proudly, removing her huge hand from their face.

"What?! Shut up! I was not!!!"

"Yeah you were. I had a front row seat."

"Ohhhh you are cruisin' for a bruisin', buddy." Susie cracked her knuckles. "I'm not about to let someone show me up without a little payback."

"...Payback?" Kris said, suddenly a little concerned they were about to get their teeth knocked out.

"Show me your eyes!!" She pointed dramatically. "You embarass me, now I get to embarass you!"

"W-what? No!" The human defensively covered their bangs.

"That wasn't a request." She leaned forward with an evil grin, then lunged toward Kris. "C'MERE!" 

The prey attempted to flee, but the beast was too fast. She locked her arms around Kris' and lifted them up. Kris flailed their legs around in an attempt to wiggle free.

"Ack! Let go!"

"Slippery little runt, aren't ya?

Kris managed to free an arm, but Susie would not relent, keeping an iron grip on the smaller human no matter how much they struggled. Any progress Kris made was immediately bested by Susie's raw strength. Kris wouldn't admit it, but it was actually... kinda fun? Almost reminiscent of the playful fights they would have with Asriel.

The scuffle continued for awhile until, finally, the beast was victorious. She pinned her prey down on the bed with a triumphant laugh. Not exactly an athelete, Kris was already too exhausted to struggle any further. They silently accepted their fate.

"Hah, I still got it." Susie said with a toothy smile, looming over her victim. "Now let's see what you been hiding under there."

Kris gulped as Susie reached her clawed hand towards their face. She'd always been curious what was under that unkempt hair. A scar? A glass eye? Some sort of human secret? She carefully brushed the lengthy bangs upward, revealing the human's whole face for the first time.

Red eyes. That was the first thing she noticed. No scars, though. No real blemishes at all. In fact, there didn't seem to be anything particularly notable about this face. Except for the eyes. Dark rings surrounded those eyes, along with grey bags beneath them, as if they hadn't seen the light of day in a long time. They looked sad. And tired. And undeniably... creepy.

But then why was she still staring at them?

"Th-there. You saw them." Kris bashfully averted their gaze. "Happy now?"

"Uh... yeah..." She said meekly, realizing she was probably staring for too long. She released Kris from her grip and sat on the bed.

Kris sat up as well, brushing their bangs back down. That was supposed to be payback, but... now they both felt embarassed.

"...The other kids always told me I had creepy eyes." Kris broke the silence. "So I guess eventually I just... stopped showing my face."

"Well... yeah, I guess they're... sorta creepy..." Susie admitted. She wasn't one to sugar-coat the truth. "But, y'know, I don't think there's anything wrong with creepy. Maybe I, *ahem*... maybe I kinda like creepy... a little bit..."

"Heh. You're weird." Kris smirked.

"You're one to talk. Guess we're just a couple of weirdoes." Susie scratched her chin. "...Man. I really don't know much about you, do I?"

"There's not really much to know." Kris shrugged. "I'm not very interesting. Don't have any hobbies. Except pranks, I guess, but I haven't pulled one of those in awhile. Asriel never liked them but-"

They looked back at Susie, but was caught off guard by her gawking face.

"You? _Pranks???_ " She said in amazement.

"Yeah?"

"No. WAY. I always thought you were a goodie-two-shoes or something!"

"You sure made a lot of assumptions about me, huh?"

"Holy crap, dude. This changes everything. Forget this dumbass project!" She tossed the textbook across the room. "You and me? We're gonna plan out some killer pranks!"

What was this feeling, welling up inside Kris' body? This pleasant, giddy feeling that had been forgotten for so long? Was this... excitement?

A mischievous smile appeared on the human's lips.

"Now we're talking."


	3. Pranksters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I didn't intend for this chapter to be so long it just sorta happened.

The school bell chimed, as it does every afternoon, signaling the end of the accursed school day. The students packed their things as fast as they could and flowed through the hallways like salmon upriver. Kris unloaded their locker into their backpack. Monster Kid did the same... somehow, despite his lack of arms.

"Yo, Kris. Seriously, what's up with you lately?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but usually you act sorta... dead." MK eyed the human over suspiciously. "But now you're actually speaking more than a few words a day. And I swear I even saw you smile a couple of times!"

"I guess I've just been in a good mood." Kris shrugged.

"And this all started happening once you started hanging out with Susie. What the heck is going on between you two anyway?"

".......You really wanna know?" Kris turned towards him.

"Duh, dude! That's why I'm asking!"

"Alright. I'll let you in on a secret." Kris leaned in closer and spoke in a deadly serious tone. "Susie's my personal bodyguard now. I've instructed her to destroy anyone who gets in my way. She's already killed many of my enemies. That's why I'm so happy."

Monster kid froze, the color drained from his face.

"Uh... hah, y-y-you're just messing with me, right?" He said, voice trembling. "I-I mean, it's a small town. W-we would have heard about something like that!"

The human flashed a menacing smile.

 _"She eats the evidence."_ They whispered.

As if on cue, a certain clawed purple hand appeared above Kris' head and playfully rustled their hair.

"Seeya outside, squirt. Don't keep me waiting." Susie said with a grin as she passed by.

"Coming." Kris replied, stuffing the last supplies into their unusually heavy backpack. "Later, MK." 

Kris hurried down the hallway, leaving the slack-jawed Monster Kid petrified in place, staring into the void.

Around the side of the school, hidden from the departing students and staff, the mischievous pair huddled over Kris' backpack.

"You got the goods?" Susie asked.

"You know it." Kris replied, unzipping their bag and revealing the contents. 

Crammed inside were a bunch of spray paint cans of varying colors, as many as the bag could hold. Susie's eye's sparkled at the sight of such a wonderful haul.

"Daaaaaamn! How did you get your hands on all this?!"

"Mom bought them for me. I told her it was for our project." Kris smirked.

"You lied to your own mother to get her to buy vandalism supplies?" Susie chuckled heartily. "We're more alike than I thought."

The monster pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket.

"I got the hit list we made right here. Where should we start?"

Kris examined it for a moment, then pointed to one of the items on the list.

"We should start here to catch him before he leaves. Then once we finish everything else, we can loop back to the Librarby after it closes."

"Hehe, I like the way you think, Kris."

\--------------------------------------

In the Librarby's computer lab, a little white dog typed away at one of the computers. It looks like he's working on a game of some sort. The lab was otherwise empty, as usual, since most of the kids nowadays have phones or computers of their own. But for some reason this little dog insisted on using these public computers. Unbeknownst to him, towering purple figure loomed nearby.

The figure whistled , drawing the dog's attention.

"C'mere, doggy!" Susie beckoned, squatting closer to the floor. "Want some pets?"

The dog took one look at her massive, clawed hands and decided these were prime petting material. Wagging his tail excitedly, the dog hopped off the chair and skipped straight into Susie's arms.

"Good boy." She said as she showered the dog with blissful pets and scritches. 

While she drew the dog's attention, a human silently entered the computer lab. Tip-toeing across the tiled floor, Kris made their way to the dog's computer. They delicately placed their hands over the mouse and keyboard.

Print screen  
Open paint  
Paste  
Set as desktop background  
Hide desktop icons  
Hide taskbar

With those few steps, the plan was complete. Sneaking back out the door, Kris gave a thumbs up. Susie nodded, releasing the dog.

"Alright, little guy, that's enough. I gotta go."

Sad that the experience was over, but equally happy that it happened, the dog trotted back to his computer while Susie left the lab to meet her partner. Now both of the pranksters peered through the door's window to watch their handiwork.

Eager to get back to work, the dog clicked on his project to open it up again. Nothing happened. Confused, the dog clicked again. Nothing happened. He clicked everywhere. Nothing happened. Being but a simple dog, he hadn't yet figured out that he was looking at a still image. He cocked his head and tried again. Looks like he's gonna be here for awhile. Looks like his game is gonna take longer than he thought.

Kris and Susie snickered to each other as they watched the ordeal unfold. The first prank of the day was a success. 

Berdley was there too, as he was most days, watching in bewilderment as these two weirdos pressed their faces against the door. For once, he decided not to open his mouth.

\----------------------------------------------

The sky turned orange as sunset descended upon the quaint town. In the alleyway behind the apartments, Ms. Alphys conducted her daily routine of leaving milk out for her "cat".

"One day, MewMew... one day I'll see you for real..." She sighed.

Suddenly, a tiny voice could be heard outside the alley

_Meow! Meow!_

"W-what was that?" Alphys jumped. "MewMew? Is that you?!"

_Meow! Meow!_

"It must be! I'm coming, MewMew!" The stout yellow lizard shuffled out of the alleyway, looking around frantically.

_Meow! Meow!_

It sounded like it was moving further into town. She ran down the sidewalk towards the source.

_Meow! Meow!_

The sound seemed to stop at a tree along the way.

"MewMew! Are you up there?!" She called out.

_Meow! Meow!_

"Oh my gosh... it must be stuck in the tree! I-I better call the police! O-or the fire department!"

She pulled out her phone, ready to dial, but hesitated.

"...Wait a second. If I rescue MewMew myself, we'll be bonded instantly! I'll be MewMew's hero!"

With a newfound sense of resolve, Alphys stuffed the phone back in her purse and walked up to the tree's trunk.

"Don't worry, MewMew! I'll save you!"

She dug her claws into the bark and grasped as hard as she could. Inch by inch she pulled herself upward, slowly but surely making progress. After an arduous minute of climbing, she finally reached the lowest set of branches and was able to rest herself on one of them.

_Meow! Meow!_

The voice was so close now. In fact, it was coming from bundle of leaves next to her. She could just barely make out something black inside it. 

"I-I got you, MewMew!" She reached out her hands and grasped it. "I... got you...?"

It felt a bit too... plastic-y to be a cat. She pulled it out of the leaves, only to be greeted with a tape recorder. It was set on repeat.

_Meow! Meow!_

Alphys stared at it blankly, realizing she'd just been had.

"...Oh, it's... a joke. Aha... haha, I-I get it..." She said with a forced smile. "K-kids always pull pranks on their teachers, right? V-very clever, guys!" She called out, assuming the pranksters somewhere nearby. 

She was right. Watching the fiasco from behind a nearby building were the two mischief makers, just out of Alphys' sight.

"PFFFFFFFhahaha!" Susie could barely contain her voice. "I can't believe that actually worked!"

"Told ya." Kris smiled. "I knew dad's old junk would come in handy one day."

Alphys looked down from the tree. She was a lot higher up than she thought. Much like the imaginary cat she was chasing, her claws weren't exactly built for climbing down.

"Uh, okay guys, joke's over! Can... can someone help me down? Anyone? I-I promise I'm not mad, I just... need a little help here!"

"Oh wow, she's really stuck up there." Said Susie.

"Yep." Kris replied.

"..........Wanna go graffiti her alley with swear words?"

"You read my mind."

\-----------------------------------------------

Night soon fell, shielding the teens under the cover of darkness. The old-fashioned town always turned quiet at this hour, presenting the perfect opportunity for these partners in crime to vandalize to their hearts' content. They made their way to their target, the police station.

The station was completely devoid of activity, as usual for such an uneventful town. Even Chief Undyne wasn't around, probably out on patrol or something. They spied the true prize, her police car, parked around the side. The teens carefully tip-toed around the station.

"Coast is clear." Susie whispered. "Let's give this baby a new paint job!"

Kris nodded, unzipping their bag and distributing the spray paint cans. They both eagerly shook their weapons, the pleasant rattling sound echoed through the silent air.

"You take that side of the car, I'll take this one."

Almost in unison, the two of them pressed the nozzles down and...

_PSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_

Within moments, the car was engulfed in vibrant cloud of colorful fog. The teenage vandals took great pleasure in coating everything they could with anything they could think of. Streaks of green, strokes of red, a dash of yellow, it all blended together as they got lost in the thrill. All the while the cops in the police station (if there even were any in there) remained oblivious to the rainbow of crime occurring just outside.

Time flies when you're having fun, and before they knew it, all their cans had run dry. Realizing the fun was over, Kris tossed the empty things aside. Susie opted to crush them like tin cans... for some reason. Probably just because she could.

"Alright, lets see what we got." Susie said proudly.

Dusting off their paint-splattered hands, they both stepped back to admire their work. Neither Kris nor Susie were particularly artistic, and it showed. The vehicle was basically unrecognizable as a police car anymore. An array of gaudy colors covered almost every inch of metal, clumsy shapes and forms dotted the surface seemingly at random. It was more like a clown car at this point.

At the very least, Kris' area of work had some semblance of structure. The swirling colors and lines centered around a single phrase written in giant letters.

**$#@! SQUAD REPRESENT**

Along with a poorly drawn image of Lancer.

"Heh, nice choice." Susie remarked. "But what about Ralsei?"

"He wouldn't want to be associated with this." Kris replied.

"Good point."

Meanwhile, Susie's canvas was just a mess. Pretty much the only coherent parts were some crude caricatures of Undyne's face. The rest of it was noisy, haphazard, and abrasive.

"I like it." Kris said, giving a thumbs up. "It really suits you."

"Man, I wish I could see the look on her face when she sees this!" Susie grinned, rubbing her palms together.

"Me too, but we should probably leave before we get arrested for real."

"Yeah, I guess. That'd be pretty rad, though."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

Their adventure finally coming to an end, Kris and Susie returned to where they started: the Librarby. It was closed now, the only thing illuminating it was the street lights.

"Get ready, Kris! You're about to take part in the biggest prank of your life!" Susie said proudly.

"You still haven't told me what it is."

"We... are gonna steal the 'B' from the Librarby!!!!" She announced, pointing to the huge letters on the building.

"...Which one?"

"The... the second one!!!"

"...Why?"

"Wh-what do you mean 'why'?!" She growled, a little insulted. "That name is basically the only unique thing in this dinky little town! And we're gonna wreck it!"

Kris didn't look convinced.

"Look, just trust me here, alright?" Susie grumbled. "It's gonna be great, and you're gonna be all 'oh Susie you're so cool and smart!'"

"If you say so."

They circled the building and found a side that looked climbable. Susie hoisted her shorter, less athletic friend onto the roof, after which she climbed up herself. They leaned over the front of the building. It looked like the giant letter was attached via nothing more than a few nuts and bolts.

"Perfect." Susie procured a wrench and handed it to Kris. "I'll hold onto you while you hang down and unscrew everything."

"Okay, but if you drop me and I die, I'm gonna haunt you as a ghost forever."

"Oh my god don't be such a drama queen! I'm not gonna drop you! I've lifted way heavier stuff than you, squirt."

Grasping Kris' ankles, Susie carefully lowered the human in front of the 'B'. True to her word, she did so with ease. Dangling upside-down with wrench in their shaky hand, Kris reached out and started unfastening the first nut. It came off with little trouble. Gaining a little more confidence that Susie wasn't, in fact, going to drop them, Kris stepped up the pace. Another nut down. Then another. As far as they could tell, there was only one left. Kris unscrewed it slowly, carefully...

Without warning, the letter started creaking and groaning. It's weight became too great for the single restraint, which popped straight off of the wall. The giant metal letter fell to the ground with a resounding thud, crashing against the pavement.

"Gah!"

"Holy crap!" Susie tightened her grip to ensure her human's safety. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah. Just pull me up."

Moments later they were both back on solid ground, looking over the defaced sign and smashed pavement.

"Good thing no one was around." Susie chuckled. "Everyone's gonna FREAK when they wake up and see this!"

Susie stood proudly with a big toothy grin on her face. Kris... not so much.

"Susie?"

"Yeah?"

"We just fixed their typo."

"What?! Shut up! No we didn't!!!" She threw her arms in the air accusingly. "We vandalized it! We replaced their precious 'Librarby' with 'Library'!!! We..."

She took another look at the sign. Her arms fell to her sides.

"...oh god dammit. WE JUST FIXED THEIR GODDAMN TYPO!!!!!" She roared, kicking the fallen 'B' as hard as she could.

Kris couldn't help but smirk at her overreaction.

"It was fun, though." They reassured.

"Ugh, I guess..." Susie said begrudgingly. "Whatever, I'm still stealing this thing. Maybe we can-"

_**FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!** _

The two of them nearly jumped out of their shoes at the shrill sound of a whistle, followed by a bright light shining their way.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, YOU PUNKS!" A heroic and extremely agitated voice yelled.

At the other end of the street was a tall blue-on-blue figure, unmistakable as Chief Undyne even from this distance. She was fuming with rage.

"I'M GONNA BUST BOTH OF YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY CAR!!!!!!!"

For a brief moment, the teens were frozen like deer in headlights.

"...........................RUN." Susie shouted, grabbing Kris by the arm and bolting in the other direction.

Dragging Kris behind her, Susie ran as fast as she could. And that was pretty darn fast. So much so that Kris could barely keep up. Undyne chased them like a bloodthirsty shark, keeping up speed and following every turn. The threat of what would happen if they were caught loomed over them. Suspension, expulsion, or worst of all, Toriel.

Yet for some reason... Kris was laughing. They couldn't stop laughing even as they ran for their lives. It was almost uncontrollable. Susie started laughing too.

Realizing their pursuer could track them anywhere in the town, the two of them fled into the woods. Zig-zagging through the dense trees, they only stopped running once they could no longer see Undyne's flashlight. They both collapsed onto the leaf litter, huge smiles on their faces.

"Haha... hah... I think... we lost her..." Susie panted, actually out of breath for once. "I don't think she recognized us either. We better stay away from her for awhile, though."

She looked down at Kris, who was still rolling with laughter while simultaneously trying to catch their breath.

"Heh, you okay? Never seen you laugh like that." 

It was a weird sight, to be sure. The most quiet person in school in the middle of a giggling fit. Weird, but not bad. She couldn't pinpoint why, but Susie kinda enjoyed seeing them this happy.

The human was eventually able to contain themself enough to form words.

"That... that was, haha.... that was awesome..." They finally said.

Kris placed their hand on their chest. They could feel their heart pumping strong, a sensation they had long forgotten.

They recalled what MK said earlier today. He was right, Kris had been a lot different lately. They hadn't thought about it much until now, but they felt different too. It didn't take them long to realize the cause either. Whenever Susie was around, Kris felt like they could be their true self. Not this husk of a person they've been ever since Asriel left.

"Lets lay low here for a bit until the heat is off." Susie said, interrupting Kris' train of thought.

Kris knew it was time to ACT. It was time... to FLIRT. For real this time.

"Susie..." They said softly. "Today really made me feel alive."

"Well yeah, me too! Pranks always get the blood flowing."

Kris shook their head.

"I'm not talking about the pranks. I'm talking about you." Kris turned towards her. "Whenever we're together, I always feel like this. You make me feel alive. You make me feel... real."

"Uh... wh-what...?" She sputtered, caught off guard by this speech.

Kris steeled themself, knowing that this next move could end up with a fist in their face. They reached over and gently placed their hand over Susie's. Scaly. Rough. Sorta cold. They could feel her much larger hand twitch slightly, but she didn't pull away. And it didn't become a fist, so that was a good sign.

"Susie, you make me feel like I'm not empty anymore." Their voice became silky smooth. Despite the situation, they remained cool and composed. "You fill my soul with so many different intense feelings. Stuff I had forgotten even existed. And I like it. I like _you_. Your voice. Your laugh. Your attitude. Your everything."

"H... heh, th-this is just another prank, right...?" She visibly struggled to remain composed.

"No. I'm serious." Kris said firmly. They cleared their throat in preparation for the real question. "Susie, will you... go to the Sadie Hawkman Dance with me?"

For once the mighty Susie was left utterly speechless. Her mind temporarily went blank as she was left staring wide-eyed into space, as if her brain had short-circuited.

"...Hello?" Kris waved their hand in front of her face.

"You... you want to go... on a date...?" Her voice cracked a little.

Kris nodded.

"With me?"

Kris nodded... again.

".............. _ **me??????**_ "

Kris was starting to get tired of nodding.

Susie turned away, mind racing. Having a friend was already unusual for her, but having someone who likes her more than a friend? That's just insane. After all, who in their right mind would want _her_ as a girlfriend? Still... hearing a confession like this did make her feel kinda warm inside. Especially coming from someone she actually admired.

"W-well, I dunno why you'd wanna date me of all people..." She attempted to regain her composure, remembering she's supposed to be the strong one. "Pretty stupid decision, if you ask me."

"Is that a no?" Kris asked.

"Of course not!" Susie accidentally blurted out, followed by immediately covering her mouth. The more she thought about it, the more she started to get excited about the whole thing, and it was getting difficult to hide it. How is she supposed to stay cool in this situation?

"Uh, what I MEAN is... I dont, um... hate the idea." She scratched her cheek smiled nervously. "I still think you're making a terrible choice!!! But, if... if you really want to, then I guess I could... go with you. Y-You know, just so you don't end up going alone, haha!!!"

God she wanted to punch herself in the face for such a terrible answer. Why couldn't she just say yes and be done with it? Kris didn't seem to mind, though. In fact, they looked happy. The human saw right through Susie's bravado.

"Thanks." Kris said, leaning on her shoulder.

"Um, yeah! No prob...!" She averted her gaze and put her hand over her snout in a futile attempt to hide her blush.


	4. Prom

"Argh, stupid FREAKING thing!!! Why do people even wear this garbage?!"

Susie angrily fiddled with her lopsided bow tie as she walked up to the Dreemurr residence. Rather than her usual baggy clothes, she wore an ill-fitting tuxedo with a strange lack of sleeves.

"Why am I even here? I hate this sorta stuff!" She said to herself, pausing in front of the door. "I probably woulda said no to anyone else. Just because Kris happens to be a smooth talker... and cool... and kinda cute-"

She suddenly smacked herself in the face.

"GAH, WHAT AM I THINKING???" She shook her head vigorously. "Why am I so nervous?! It's just a stupid prom!!! Just knock on the stupid door!"

After some hesitation, she finally did so. She stood stiff as a board when she heard footsteps from inside. The door opened.

"Good evening, Susie!"

The first thing her eyes met was Toriel, wearing a fairly standard dress, not unlike what she wears to work, and a bright smile on her face.

Then her eyes wandered down to Kris. From the neck up they looked the same: shaggy, unkempt hair covering most of their face. But looking further down, they wore a long, elegant dress. It was green, Kris' favorite color, and the smooth, silky fabric shined in the moonlight. The clearly expensive dress contrasted with Kris' plain, mostly emotionless face.

Susie was awestruck, staring wordlessly at such a strange sight.

"...Susie?" Kris said.

"U-uh, sorry!" She snapped herself out of it. "I was just, uh... surprised! I wasn't sure if you were gonna wear a suit or a dress! It, um... it looks nice..."

"Thanks." Kris smiled faintly. "Mom helped me pick it out."

"You look lovely as well, Susie! I did not know that anyone made sleeveless tuxedos." Toriel motioned towards Susie's exposed, muscular arms.

"Oh, this? Nah, my arms wouldn't fit through the sleeves so I ripped 'em off."

"........I see......." Toriel said blankly.

A short car ride later they arrived at the school, wholly unfamiliar in the darkness of night. Susie instinctively grimaced at the thought of coming here after school hours, but she managed to power through it and follow the Dreemurrs out of the car. Other students and parents were trickling in as well. The trio made their way inside the school, stopping at the gymnasium entrance.

"Oh, before you go in..." Toriel stopped the couple outside the door and pulled out a disposable camera, despite the fact that everyone here had a smartphone. "I must take a picture of you two!"

"Mom, do you really have t-"

**SNAP!**

"Yes." Toriel smiled, getting a rather unflattering photo of the unprepared couple. "I could not miss the opportunity to save my child's first date!"

Before either of the teens could respond, the giddy mother opened the gym doors.

"Do not worry, I will try to stay out of your way now! Have fun, you two!" She said excitedly before disappearing behind the doors.

And so the couple was left alone in the hallway, muffled music filling the air. Kris started towards the gym doors, but was stopped by Susie's hand on their shoulder.

"Kris... hang on a second." She said, unusually quiet. "Are you... are you sure you wanna be seen here with me? I mean, I'm basically the most hated person in school, y'know?" She scratched her head and averted her eyes. "I'm just saying... it's not too late to back out."

Kris silently stared up at her for a moment, then locked their arm around hers. 

"There's no way I'd be wearing this dress if I wasn't serious." Kris smirked.

Susie's body stiffened up. Despite the reassurance, something inside her was still twisting. Not really butterflies in her stomach. More like angry hornets.

"Um... haha, g-great! Awesome!" Her voice cracked awkwardly. "But I, uh, I gotta go... take a piss! Yeah! Bathroom! Go on ahead, I'll meet you inside!" She unhooked their arms and barrelled down the hallway.

The human frowned as they watched her disappear into the ladies room. With a dejected sigh they walked into the gymnasium, alone.

"STUPID STUPID STUPID!" Susie roared, punching the tiled wall. "What the hell am I tryin' to do?! Ruin my own date?!"

She fumed and stomped around the empty bathroom, slinging various profanities at herself.

"Why am I suddenly acting like a total wuss?! Since when do I care what anyone thinks?!  
Meanwhile Kris is acting all cool and silent as usual. I'm supposed to be the strong one!!!"

She leaned down on one of the sinks and looked into the mirror, snarling at her own reflection.

"I'm not ruining my first date. I've wrecked pretty much everything in my life up until now, but not this time! I'm Violent Ax Susie, dammit! I don't get embarrassed! I rush in head first! I do what I want, when I want! No hesitation!!!"

She let out a determined grunt and stood upright, cracking her knuckles.

"Nobody gets the better of me, not even Kris!"

Back in the gymnasium, the prom itself looked about as generic as you could get. Dim lights, punch bowls, and exceedingly safe music. The only notable thign about it was the chaperones wearing bird masks: a strange tradition that the students try to ignore.

While all the monsters danced and mingled, Kris was alone at the food table, already in the process of stuffing cupcakes and tiny sandwiches into their mouth.

"Well, well! I never expected to see you here, Kris." An unmistakable voice called out.

Kris turned their head, cheeks still full of food. It was none other than Berdley leaning against the table, wearing a remarkably clean tuxedo that somehow lacked any wrinkles whatsoever. Kris gulped, swallowing the rest of their food.

"...Hi." They said quietly.

"I couldn't help but notice that you seem to be attending this prom alone." He grinned condescendingly. "Not that I'm surprised."

"Actually I'm not-"

"No need to deny it, Kris! There's no shame in going stag. After all, it's better than having your mom as a date." He said with an indescribably smug expression.

Kris simply stared at him blankly.

"Fear not! In my infinite kindness, I've decided to save you from this fate and offer you... a dance!" Berdley held out his wing expectantly.

"........No thanks, I don't-"

"No need to be so humble! This is a limited time offer, you know. I doubt anyone else here would want to dance with y- HRK?!"

Suddenly, a massive clawed hand appeared above Berdley's head and clamped down on his skull. It forcibly turned him around, bringing him face to face with a hulking purple beast. 

"Hey there, pal. Buddy." She growled, yellow eyes glowing with malice. "You wouldn't happen to be trying to steal my date, would ya?"

"D-d-d-d-d-date?! Y-you?!" Berdly trembled, his previously smug demeanor nowhere to be found. "Y-y-you two are... together?!"

"That's right. You're lookin' at Kris' girlfriend." She leaned in closer, baring her teeth. "Got a problem with that?"

"N-n-no! No problem! None at all!" He said with a terrified smile.

"Glad we understand each other." Susie released her death grip on the bird, leaving him as a statue afraid to make any sudden movements.

She walked over to Kris, who was watching the whole thing silently but contently, and draped her arm around them.

"So... wanna dance?"

Kris nodded happily, pleased to see Susie back to her normal self.

There were plenty of odd looks and stares as the notorious bully led the weird, quiet human to the dance floor. They were both plenty creepy alone, but as a couple they somehow looked even creepier to many of the onlookers.

"Do you know how to dance?" Kris asked.

"Not a clue!" Susie replied almost proudly with a toothy grin. "You?"

"Nope."

"Hah! You asked me to a dance without knowing how to dance?" She chuckled, playfully shaking Kris. "Eh, how hard could it be?"

They both looked around at the other dancers for examples. The rules for this prom must be pretty strict, because everyone was dancing in almost the exact same way.

"Pff, easy. We can do that!"

Kris nodded as the two of them faced each other. Emulating the other dancers, Susie placed her hands on the human's shoulders, while Kris placed their's on her hips. Keeping each other at arm's length, they gently swayed from side to side to the monotonous beat of the music, turning ever so slowly. Indeed, it was as easy as Susie said. Dreadfully so. It didn't take long for them to completely blend in with everyone else.

"Kris?"

"Yeah?"

"This sucks."

"Yeah..." Kris frowned. "I thought dancing would be a little more... exciting."

"...How's about we make it exciting, then?" Susie grinned.

Though she's never danced before, Susie decided to do what she does best: go with her gut. She's seen plenty of dancing in cheesy movies and TV shows, that seemed like a good place to start.

Taking the lead, Susie grasped Kris' hands and started moving more energetically. Kris smiled, following suit and trying to match her movements. Rather than the awkward shuffling from before, Susie swung the human around from side to side, always keeping at least one hand on them. She gradually got more adventurous as they progressed. She tried inserting flashier moves, giving Kris a twirl as their long green dress twisting around with each spin. It was pretty amateur, all things considered, but it was at least far more exciting than the alternative.

They began to draw the attention of the other patrons, their bombastic style sticking out like a sore thumb among the sea of dancers. As the music picked up, Kris let themself fall into Susie's arm. Effortlessly supporting their weight, she dipped the human as far down as she could without hitting the floor, one hand still clutching theirs. 

Face to face, staring into Kris' barely visible eyes, Susie flashed a toothy smile.

"Not bad, huh? Considering I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Not terrible, I guess." Kris smirked.

**_SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH_ **

Startled by the sudden shrill noise, Susie lost her grip and dropped Kris to the floor with a thud.

"Ow."

"Oh dear, are you alright, Kris?" The source of the shriek said in a gentle voice, pulling the oversized bird mask off of her head. "I did not mean to surprise you that much!"

"What the hell was that for?!" Susie barked, helping Kris get back up.

"Language, Susie." Toriel chided. "I apologize, but you know the rules! No dancing at any distance less than arm's length. No exceptions, Sadie Hawkman is very strict about this."

"Seriously? We were just starting to have fun!"

"You can have fun while still adhering to the rules, just like everyone else. Excuse me, but I must get back to chaperoning. Enjoy your evening!" She placed the bird mask back on her head and left the dance floor

The couple stared blankly as the rest of the dancers lost interest, going back to their routines.

"What a load of crap." Susie grumbled.

"Yeah. Sorry about my mom."

"Sorry I dropped you on your ass."

"...I don't really feel like dancing anymore."

"Me neither."

The two of them stood awkwardly on the dance floor for a moment.

"Wanna bail?" Kris asked.

"Yeah, let's blow this dump!"

While Toriel was otherwise occupied, the two of them managed to sneak out. Susie stretched her arms, more than happy to use any excuse to leave school.

"So what's next, flirt master?" Susie asked. "Got any other 'romantic' plans now that the dance was a bust?"

"Not really." Kris shrugged. "Now I kinda just want to go eat some garbage food."

"Hehehe, now THAT'S the kind of date I can get into!" Susie chuckled, slapping Kris on the back.

After making their way to a fast food joint just outside of town, they sat side by side on the curb with their greasy haul. It was an odd sight, two teenagers in an elegant dress and a sleeveless tuxedo scarfing down burgers and fries like a couple of animals.

"Ah yeah, this is way better than some crummy prom!" Susie said cheerfully as she emptied the last basket of fries into her maw.

"Mhm." Kris wordlessly agreed, gulping down a mouthfull of food. "Probably should have done this in the first place. Sorry for dragging you to that dance."

"Eh, don't worry about it. It was fun while it lasted, right?" Susie leaned on her hands. "Besides, I'm the one who should be apologizing to you."

"For what?"

"For acting like a total dumbass on our first date! All that stuttering and hesitation and crap? I mean really, 'it's not too late to back out'?" She mocked herself. "That ain't me, you know?"

"I know. I figured you were just embarrassed."

"Pfff, me? Embarrassed? Not on your life!" Susie chortled. "I guess I was just... confused? I didn't know what I was supposed to do on a date, and I didn't want to screw anything up, but I ended up almost doing that anyway. Eventually I decided I should stop thinking about it and just be me."

Kris nodded cheerfully, glad she came to that conclusion.

"Oh crap, that's right! I totally forgot-" She rustled through her pockets. "I was gonna give you something after the prom, but since that didn't exactly go as planned, I might as well give it to you now."

Whatever she pulled out was hidden in her claws. She indicated Kris should hold out their hand.

"I'm not exactly rich so, uh, don't expect anything fancy. I just got this from the dollar store."

Finally, she placed the object in Kris' hands. At first glance, it appeared to be a small figuring of a knight. But on closer inspection, it was clearly bootleg. The paint job was sloppy and lopsided, the body's mold was originally from some unrelated superhero, and the ill-fitting plastic sword and shield were obviously lifted from a different figure entirely.

Kris tilted their head curiously.

"Okay I know it kinda sucks, but I got it cause it... reminded me of you. N-not that you suck!!! Ugh, that came out wrong." She rubbed her brow, annoyed at herself. "I meant the knight part. I sorta... really admire you, I guess. And not just because of the Dark World stuff. At first I wasn't sure if that quiet kid could possibly be the same leader I saw down there, but now I know. You're calm, you're cool, you're a troublemaker like me but you always seem to know what you're doing. I guess what I'm trying to say is... you, uh... you make me want to be a better person."

She scratched the back of her neck, not used to wearing her heart on her sleeve like this.

"I still don't know why you chose me out of everyone else in our school, but... I'm glad ya did." She said with a soft smile. "Heh, I know none of that has much to do with a crappy figurine, but-"

Kris interrupted her with a sudden kiss on the cheek (no small feat given the height difference), catching her completely off guard.

The human smiled, clutching the gift close to their chest.

"I love it."

\-----------------------------------------------------

The prom ended and the night drew to a close. Kris was back in their room preparing for bed, swapping the dress for pajamas. They looked over at their brother's shelf of fame, contrasting with their own barren wall. A familiar sight. They looked down at the object they were still gripping tightly in their hands. They smiled again.

Kris placed the figurine right in the middle of one of their vacant shelves. They stared at it fondly for a few moments before hopping into bed and drifting off to sleep. Even with just that single, lone figure proudly displayed on the otherwise barren wall, their side of the room didn't look quite so empty anymore.


End file.
